Blog

Yes, it’s that time of year again… although I’m not going to mention the C word! We all know that’s coming soon, but what really interests me is the run-up to the festive season. Everyone talks about the massive consumption of food and drink at this time, but I actually think the excess starts long before the big day. The works lunches, the mince pies, the tubs of choccies in the office – and of course, the alcohol. There aren’t many of us who aren’t presented with numerous opportunities to drink more than is strictly good for us at this time of year – and sometimes, in the face of peer pressure, it seems more socially acceptable to indulge than to abstain. Nobody wants to be branded a party pooper!

The amount of alcohol people drink was highlighted to me and several of my colleagues when we attended a training recently on Alcohol Brief Interventions (or ABIs). The idea of this was that if we come into contact with members of the public that we suspect are drinking alcohol at ‘hazardous’ levels, we’ll know how to broach this appropriately and signpost them to help. Not exactly easy, but doable in the right way. What really shocked me was learning about the amount that many people apparently drink and the harm this is doing to both themselves and society in terms of crime and the strain alcohol-related illness places on the NHS. Levels of liver disease have rocketed in recent years. I used to think the type of person who gets liver disease is someone who can’t get out of bed in the morning without swigging vodka straight from the bottle, but it can actually happen with a much lower level of drinking over a sustained period of time. And, despite what we see on the telly, those who are drinking the most aren’t young people out on the lash, but middle-class affluent sorts who most nights of the week might have a G&T ‘to relax’ when they get in from work and then a bottle of wine with dinner.

The amount you drink can easily be at a harmful level without you even realising it. The recommended daily allowances are pretty small really; 2-3 units per day for women and 3-4 for men. That’s official units, not individual drinks of the size you might pour yourself at home! A large glass of wine (250 ml) has a staggering three units. And saving up your weekly units for a binge on Saturday night isn’t good for you at all. If you think you might be drinking more than you should, check out the Change 4 Life website, where there’s some really useful information, including a helpful (and possibly eye-opening) booklet called Don’t Let Drink Sneak Up On You. It also gives advice on how to relax without resorting to drink, which might help the many people who say they drink alcohol to relieve stress. The Drink Aware website is also a great resource and features the fascinating (and somewhat enlightening) alcohol unit and calorie calculator, as well as an app that allows you to track your drinking.

I’m not a Christmas killjoy. Aargh – I said the C word! I like a glass of wine (Pinot Noir if you’re buying) as much as anyone – and we all overdo it a bit from time to time over the extended break from work. But if you keep an eye on your drinking levels for the rest of the year and you’ll really be doing yourself a favour. You wouldn’t want me staging an intervention, now would you?!